Issues at Erskine

A group of evangelical students at Erskine has recently launched a website to bring the attention of the proper church authorities to some important institutional issues there. Given Carl's very legitimate concerns about websites, blogs and online semi-ecclesiastical petitions, I would want to hasten to say, that these students are appealing to the appropriate ecclesiastical authority to act (the General Synod of the ARP), and there are already overtures related to this that have come up through the church courts in the proper manner.

But the issues in play at Erskine are of a more general interest, given the current situation in the North American Reformed and evangelical community. So, ref21 readers may want to be informed of the issues in play. Here is what the students say:

"We are evangelical students and alumni from Erskine College and we asking for your help. We ask for help because we are are committed to the glory and honor of Jesus Christ and to the peace, prosperity, and purity of the Church. These commitments form our foundation for loving Erskine. We love Erskine's Christ-centered mission. We know the desperate need that the Church has for an institution that provides a rigorous academic curriculum founded upon the historic Christian faith. However, we are saddened to see Erskine not fulfilling its mission. We see Erskine moving farther and farther away from her stated mission of being a Christian Liberal Arts college.

"We now plead for you, as the leaders of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, to help us bring Erskine back to its educational heritage of Christian commitment and excellence in learning. We have created the S.A.F.E. website (Student Aligned for a Faithful Erskine) in order to share our concerns with the Church. On the website you will find the petition letter Erskine students and alumni plan on sending to Synod this year to ask for the Church's help. You will also find a student-produced video that introduces the petition letter and explains some of our concerns about the present condition and trajectory of Erskine College. Finally, on the website there are also student and alumni letters that detail the College's continued rapid turn away from its mission and that ask for your help in returning Erskine to faithfulness to the will of the Church and the Gospel of Christ.

"Please, visit our website and read over our material:http://www.studentsforerskine.com ."